Return My Heart
by tjstl
Summary: Still bad at summaries...What if Sam was shot instead of Hayden? This is my idea of how GH could have moved the Jake/Jason reveal along. Please review. If any one is interested, I will keep writing!
1. Chapter 1

This can't be happening... he thought as he looked across at the woman who had betrayed him. "I have to go to my wife. She could be fighting for her life and she will never know that I was with her. She could never see me hold our son." He would deal with her but right now the very sight of Elizabeth made him sick. His priority was Sam. He had to get to her. He had to make sure she would be ok.

"Please don't go! Jake wait!" she reached for his arm as he quickly moved past her towards the door. He forcefully yanked his arm away as he faced her.

"But that's not my name, is it? I may not have Jason's memories, but it doesn't change the fact that it's who I am."

She looked down as the tears continued to stream down her face. "Jason, please…" She said quietly.

"There is nothing for me here. I don't know what my future holds. I may not ever remember Sam or myself enough to be the Jason that she loved and lost. I do know for damn sure that my future does not include you." He spoke with quiet controlled anger before continuing out the front door. Once outside, he leaned against a pole on the porch. His head was swimming. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to run and tell Sam the truth, but he still had no real memories of their lives together. Only that dreams that now made much more sense.

 _One Day Earlier_

"Fine," Hayden shifted her gaze from Jake to Sam. "If you don't want to hear what I have to say, I'm sure Sam will. This is as much about you as it is about Jake."

A look of bewilderment settled across her face as butterflies settled into her gut. Something bad was about to happen. Years of being a con turned P.I. had told her to trust her gut, and something was definitely wrong here. She had a buried sense of why this news about Jake would matter to her, but it was deep in her sub-conscious somewhere waiting to be uncovered.

Jake's body tensed, " You need to back off."

"Hold on, I….." she stopped speaking as she felt Jake's arm go across her body and gently push her back as he took a step towards Hayden.

"Don't talk to her. It was ok when you were just a stranger doing your job. I didn't like being your mark but I could handle it. But when you bring her into this, you're going to have a problem with me…..And you definitely don't want a problem with me." His tone was even, calm and menacing. He couldn't fully explain his instrict to protect Sam, but it had always been there. It was the really he couldn't kill her when Helena was in control of his mind. The instinct had only grown since the surgery, and right now everything inside him was yelling for him to be on guard and protect Sam from whatever was about to happen.

The shots rang out quickly but next few moments played out in slow motion. He immediately turned towards Sam and caught her as she fell into his arm. He took her to the ground and covered her with his body as he yelled for Hayden to get down. The shots stopped and with his body still covering Sam's he looked back at Hayden.

"Stay down. Are you ok." She looked up at him dazed and didn't respond. She seemed fine but he needed to hear it from her. "Are you OK?" he said forcefully.

"I…I think so." Hayden responded as she slow sat up.

"Stay down!" he yelled as it occurred to him that he might be crushing Sam's petit frame.

"Sam," he outstretched his arms so that his upper body formed a tent over her. "Sam, are you okay?" He said gently. She lay on her side facing away from him. Her shoulder and saw that her eyes were closed.

"Sam?" He gently rolled her on her back and immediately notice the bullet wound that was almost at the exact center of her abdomen"

He experienced a brief moment of deja-vu as an image of Sam's limp body in a white dress flashed into his mind. He shook it off. This was not the time for another one of his day dreams.

"No….No…..NO!" he gently moved her body and cradled her head in his lap. "Sam, don't do this. I need you to wake up sweetheart." He turned his head to look at Hayden. She was now sitting upright, blankly staring in his direction.

"Hayden." She just stared, "HAYDEN!" he yelled and her eyes snapped to focus on his. I need you to crawl over to the counter and call the police. Stay low! I think they are done shooting but just in case I don't want you to make yourself a target."

She nodded her head slowly but didn't move. Shock was setting in and he needed her to snap out of it. "Hayden, I need you to move." He said softly but firm tone. She slowly began to slide her way across the floor and he turned his attention back to Sam. He leaned his face over hers as he saw her eyes flutter.

"Sam?" he put his hands on either side of her face so that the were looking directly at each other.

"Jason?" She said weakly as a slight smile came to her face. "Jason, I knew you would come back to me"

His heart ached a little as he listned to her words. "Sam, its me Jake. You've been shot but I've got you. Help is on the way."

"Jason, you have to go see Danny. He's your son. I have proof, I never got to….." Her eyes drifted closed again.

"Sam. Sam, I need you to stay with me sweetheart." Her eyes drifted closed again.

His eyes began to water. He couldn't explain the emotions that were churning inside of him. There was rage for towards whoever had done this. He knew the bullet was meant for him, but an innocent woman was hit instead. Then there was another emotion that he couldn't quite placed, but it was compelling him to not leave Sam's side. She had to be ok, even if he just stayed with her and willed it so.

"An ambulance is on the way." Hayden's timid voice spoke from behind. He turned and looked at her and more rage came up. He may not have liked her, but she didn't deserve to be shot at.

"Just sit tight until they get here. You need to get checked out too. I think you are going into shock."

"Is she okay?" She took shakey steps towards Sam.

"She will be." He said coldly. "I need you to come sit with her"

Hayden shook her head and started to back away.

"Hayden," Jake said firmly. "I need you to hold her head.

She slowly made her way down next to him, and Jake gently moved Sam's lap from his head to hers. Once he had them settled he rose to his feet.

"Where are you going" Hayden asked with shake breath.

"I'll be right outside." He cautiously made his way towards the door. Whoever did this was probably long gone by now but he had to try.

He made his way out the door and started to look around. He quickly noticed a bullet knick in the side of the building and began to look for any clues of what direction it came from. His eyes were drawn to a shell casing on the ground as he heard the sirens approaching. He picked it up and took a glance at it before placing it in his pocket and heading back in to Sam and Hayden. They were exactly where he left them. And Hayden swayed back and forth.

"How is she doing?" He lowered his body next to Hayden and transferred Sam's head back to his lap.

Hayden scooted back. "She has been in and out." She replied with her voice shaking. "She just kept calling out for Jason." She didn't stop moving until her back hit a wall.

"was there anyone out there?" she drew her knees up to her chest and began to sway again.

"No, they were long gone. But whoever it was will probably be back. They came here to kill me and didn't succeed. They will want to finish the job.

"I don't think they were here for you." She said softly.

"I'm pretty sure it was somebody Sonny sent in retaliation."

"Or it could have been someone that Nikolas sent for me."

"Nikolas Cassidine? Why would Nikolas Cassidine send someone to kill you at Julian Jerome's garage"

This was clearly the shock talking, and he was relieved to hear the sirens getting closer.

"He wanted to stop me from telling you what I know."

"That doesn't make any sense Hayden. Why wouldn't Nikolas want me to know who I am? How does he even know that you know?"

"Because he and Elizabeth told me….well I overheard them. And he didn't want you to know that they know….that…."

Jake's head was swimming. None of this made any sense, but she seemed convinced

"No, Elizabeth would tell me if she knew who I was." He shook his head in disbelief but tried to hold Sam steady.

"She would if she didn't want to you go back to your wife, Sam Morgan. She wouldn't if she didn't want anyone to know that you are Jason Morgan."

"what? No!" Jake could feel the tears in his eyes but none fell. This couldn't be true, it was just another con. He looked down at Sam's face and felt the familiarity. He looked down at her bleeding abdomen and felt a new level of terror.

His body went numb as the EMTs and Police officers entered the garage and started to take over the space. An EMT leaned down to Sam and immediately checked her pulse.

She…she has…a gun shot wound to the abdomen. No exit wound." He stuttered. "She had been in and out of consciousness."

The other EMT rapidly moved around him to take Sam's head and put on a neck brace.

"We have it from here, sir. Is another ambulance outside. You should go get yourself checked out and talk to the police."

"I'm fine. They need to check on her." He said softly and pointed towards Hayden. Disbelief coming through in his voice. He stood but didn't move to far from Sam.

"Sir, you really should let us work."

"I'm not leaving her!" He said forcefully.

"Are you family? If you're not family then"

"No…. I mean yes." Jake responded. Not quite believing the words coming out of his mouth. "Her name is Sam Morgan. I'm her husband, Jason Morgan."

They gently placed Sam on the stretcher and the EMT nodded, ignoring Jake's hesitation. They began to wheel her towards the door. "Come with us, Mr. Morgan. We are taking your wife to General Hospital."

Jake briefly glanced back at Hayden who was now being attended to by the other EMTs. He then caught up with the stretcher and followed Sam into the Ambulance. He had no proof that what Hayden had said was the truth, but something in him knew that it was. He didn't want to believe that Elizabeth was a part of this secret, but something deep inside of him knew that was true as well. Regardless of any of that, there was no way that he was going to let Sam go through this without him. He didn't remember a life with her, but there was something in him that was drawn to her right now.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I won't normally update so fast (I'll try to update once a week), but I wanted to get this out. Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in the story. I hope this chapter makes you want to keep coming back! Please review!

2

Jake sat quietly by Sam's side, unsure of what to do with himself. She had survived two surgeries, one last night and another this morning to repair some of the damage from the bullet wound. Her mother and sisters had come last night and stayed with her as well, but he refused to leave. This morning when they left to head home for a while he assured them that he would stay with her until their return, and that is what he planned to do. He visited with Hayden for a bit while Sam's family had been with her, and the woman's story now was the same as the day before. She said that he was in fact Jason Morgan. Nikolas Cassidine had proof, and Elizabeth had known since the nurse's ball. There was still part of him that wanted to believe that none of it was true, but with each passing moment the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place. His dreams, Nikolas' unfounded kindness in paying for his medical bills, and Spencer's possession of Jason's wedding ring were all clues. Then there was Elizabeth, and her sudden insistence that he move on and forge a new life. She had somehow convinced him not be hung up on trying to discover a past that he might never remember. The thought of her deception made his blood run cold.

The past few months had been nothing but betrayal and lies. This included the betrayal of his own mind that didn't allow him to remember his wife and son. He didn't feel the way that a husband and father should about Sam and Danny, but somewhere deep down they had already become very important to him. He decided during the night that he would guard this new information carefully, until he knew that Sam would be alright. Sam was with Patrick now and while part of him was jealous that Patrick was living the life that should be his, he couldn't blame the man. Patrick was able to take care of Sam and Danny in a way that they deserved, and in truth Jake was grateful that they had him. Patrick was out of town with Emma visiting his father, but promised to be on the next plane when he heard the news. He'd immediately blamed Jake once the situation was explained and Jake couldn't argue. As fate would have it, even without his memories he had found his way back to the dangers of Jason Morgan's life and brought them to his family. This revelation brought a special kind of guilt. Maybe Sam and Danny were actually better off without him. What could he offer them anyway? He was no longer the man that Sam remembered. What could he bring them except danger? There was so much to consider. A light knock to the door brought him out of his thoughts. He expected to see Alexis and Molly as he turned to greet them.

"She's still out. She waited for you all to come back and now she can wake up." He said with a slight smile.

"Jake, I'm so glad you are ok. I just heard what happened. Why didn't you call?" it was the last voice that he wanted to hear or face he wanted to see.

His body turned to stone as he stared into the eyes of his betrayer. "I wanted to stay with Sam. You shouldn't be here…you should go." He turned his back to her and grabbed Sam's hand from the hospital bed.

"You've been here all night? Where is Patrick? Her family? You need to go home and get some rest." She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

Jake was trying to keep calm. He didn't want to get into this with her right now. Not until he had a chance to talk with Sam, but if she didn't leave soon he was going to lose it.

"Elizabeth, you need to leave….now. We will talk later, but not now. Not while Sam is still in a coma."

"Jake? What's going on with you? Sam has plenty of people that will look out for her. You don't have to be here. Go home and get some rest. I'm on shift now, I will let you know if anything changes."

"Will you? Or would you keep that from me too. What are you really worried about Elizabeth? Are you really concerned about me? Sam? Or are you worried that I will somehow figure out who I really am?" He turned to face her again and Elizabeth took a step back like he was hot fire.

"Jake, what are you talking about?" she asked nervously. "I think you need some rest. Why would I be scared of you remembering you are and why would Sam be a part of that?" she asked innocently.

"I won't do this in here, not now." He calmed himself slightly. "I'm trying to keep it together but you need to leave…..now." He turned back to faced Sam and waited to hear Elizabeth's footsteps as she left the room.

"Talk to me Jake, don't shut me out. You know how much I care for you."

He couldn't believe that she was still playing the innocent act. He wanted to yell and be angry but he wouldn't do it near Sam. He forcefully pushed his chair away from Sam's bed and stormed past Elizabeth to the hall way. She timidly followed him. He could sense the nervousness in her body. How could he ever trust someone who could so easily lie to and manipulate him? He pulled the hospital door closed behind her. Elizabeth stood across from him with the same look of innocence that had blinded him for months.

"If that is really true, if you really care for me at all then just stop lying, Elizabeth. I know that I'm Jason Morgan. How long have you been keeping the truth from me?" There was tension in his voice, though he kept it low.

He saw her body go weak for a moment before she took a deep breath and spoke. "You have to understand…I only wanted to do what was best for everyone. Sam had moved on, she was finally healing and..."

"Don't you dare bring Sam into this. How could you!" His resolve began to give way as he raised his voice." She drew back, clearly startled by his sudden change and tears began to fall down her face.

 _This can't be happening_... he thought as he looked across at the woman who had betrayed him. She had finally admitted to keeping the secret, but he felt no relief… only more anger. Despite how he felt at the moment, he didn't want to hurt her. He was still trying to understand why. "I have to go to my wife. She could be fighting for her life and she would never know that I was here with her. She could never see me hold our son." This was far from over, he would deal with her but right now the very sight of Elizabeth made him sick. His priority was Sam. He had to get back to her. He had to make sure she would be ok.

"Please don't go! Jake wait!" she reached for his arm as he quickly moved past her towards the door to Sam's room. He forcefully yanked his arm away as he faced her.

"But that's not my name, is it? I may not have Jason's memories, but it doesn't change the fact that it's who I am."

She looked down as the tears continued to stream down her face. "Jason, please… I can't lose you again." She said quietly.

"You never had me, you had a man who has no past….no family waiting for him. I am not that man. I don't know what the future holds. I may not ever remember Sam or myself enough to be the Jason that she loved and lost, but I know for damn sure that my future does not include you." He spoke with quiet controlled anger before continuing out the hospital door. Once inside Sam's room, he leaned against the wall beside the door and pulled the blinds. His head was swimming. He didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted Sam to wake up so he could tell her the truth, but he still had no real memories of their lives together. He only had the dreams and daydreams that suddenly made more sense. They weren't dreams at all, they were memories fighting their way to the surface. This all meant nothing if Sam didn't wake up. She had survived the surgeries, but was still unconscious. It was just a waiting game now, and he wasn't going to leave her side. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Jake?" he heard a soft weak voice. He slowly opened his eyes and stared directly in her warm brown ones. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Jason's heart beat faster. This was going to be harder than he imagined.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Wow, it's been a long time. I won't even try to make any excuses. I will just apologize and say that I have a renewed creative energy around this story and hope to make some chapter additions. Are you guys still interested? Obviously, things on the the show were in a very different place when I last wrote for this story, so my story now exists in a world completely separate from GH as we know it now. I hope to make some connections to the current story line as I move forward. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this long hiatus. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, what are some elements that you wished tptb had included in our nuJASAM reunion? I have a lot of space to make this story exactly what we wanted as fans and would love to include moments for you guys. Leave a review if there is something that you really want to see happen.**

"Jake?" he heard a soft weak voice. He slowly opened his eyes and stared directly into hers. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Jason's heart beat faster. This was going to be harder than he imagined.

"Hey, glad you decided to join us again." He said with a faint smile.

The forced look seemed to only worry Sam more. He pulled himself off the wall and went to her bedside again. He was at a loss for how to proceed. They were husband and wife, though Sam didn't know that and it was not what they had been for the past year. He decided in that moment to be the friend that she had come to know. The truth about his identity was still hearsay, though Elizabeth had all but confessed to knowing and Hayden spoke with certainty about what she knew. He believed it, but he needed to understand it and confirm the truth for himself before he could bring Sam or anyone else into the chaos.

"Let me call the doctor," he said as he reached for the call button.

"What happened?" she asked with a raspy voice. He proceeded to pour her a cup of water as his brain worked to determine what he would share.

"We were at the garage," he began and handed her the water as she struggled to sit up right. "Someone shot at us and you were hit. You were brought to the hospital and came through your second surgery this morning. Patrick will be here any minute, and your mom and sisters just left a few hours ago to get some rest. You had us all worried." He gently placed a hand on her back to help her up. A moment of tenderness passed between them as their eyes met, and Jason quickly backed away.

"Are you ok, did anyone else get hurt? Where is Danny?" He could see the alarm in her face as a million questions surfaced. He took the cup from her and placed her hand in his.

"I'm fine, and so is Hayden. She was there with us, no one else was. Danny is fine. Your mom called Monica yesterday and she said that he can stay with the Quatermaines as long as he needs to." He felt a slight pull to his heart at the thought of his son and Mother.

Sam gave a look of relief and released the tension in her body. "Who did this? Did someone try to have you killed or were they going after my father?" He could see her P.I. brain start turning. "Was there a message?"

"Don't worry about that right now. You need to focus on recovery." He didn't want to start throwing out theories which would have to include Hayden's belief that the gunman was in fact sent to ensure that she didn't tell him what she knew.

At that moment a doctor and nurse walked in.

"We'll need a moment with Mrs. Morgan." The doctor began. "You can return when we are done."

"I'll be back in a bit Sam. I won't go far." He gave her hand a light squeeze and headed towards the door.

"Jake…" Sam called out. He turned when he reached the door

"Thank you. I know you haven't left the hospital….Those are the same clothes you had on yesterday. You are a great friend."

He didn't respond, just nodded and headed out the door. Part of him wanted to tell her that he wasn't just a friend, he was her husband and the least he could do was sit with her. He reminded himself that it wasn't time for that yet. Sam needed to get better and he needed to get proof. Hayden seemed sure in her information, but she had a track record of dishonesty. He would need a DNA test to prove his identity before he would burden Sam or anyone else with this truth. Jason ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He was still unsure of his full feelings about Sam as his wife, but he loved her as a friend and he definitely wanted to pursue a relationship with his son.

"How is she?" Patrick raced up to Jason outside the hospital door. "I got here as soon as I could, but I had to take Emma to her uncle Mac's. Is she awake?'

"Take a breath." Jason said calmly as Patrick approached. "She just woke up from the second surgery. A doctor and nurse are in there now. She will be happy to see you."

"What the hell happened? How did she get shot?"

"We're still trying to get all the details…We think there was one shooter outside the garage, not sure if I was the target." Jason tried to hold back the emotion in his voice.

"So this was your fault?" Patrick's stare turned hard.

Jason paused to get a hold of the anger that was bubbling up inside him. Part of him was grateful to Patrick for how he had taken care of Sam and Danny over the past year, but he was still upset by the accusation that was just beneath the surface in Patrick's tone.

"Like I said, we don't know the details yet…" he was cut off by Patrick and his raised voice.

"But I'd be willing to bet that Sam wasn't the target, she was just a casualty of your circumstances."

Jason froze with a stone cold glare fixed on Patrick. Though there was potentially some truth in Patrick's words, Jason had no patience for the man in this moment.

"You should go see her when the doctor comes out. Tell Sam that I will be back in a bit to check on her." Jason quickly turned his back on the man and began to walk away.

"Don't bother, I'm here now. She'll be fine without you." Patrick called out after him.

 _No way in hell,_ Jason thought as he continued to walk towards the elevator. He didn't know what would happen between him and Sam when the truth was revealed, but something inside told him that he would never willingly be absent from her life again. Once he had proof that he is in fact Jason Morgan he could go about reclaiming his life, and that might mean pursuing a renewed relationship with his son and wife. A rush of complicated emotions flooded him as he waited for the elevator. His first stop would be the lab to get a DNA test to prove the truth that he already knew in his heart, even without the memories to go along with it.

"Jake!" He recognized the voice without even seeing her. He turned to see Carly Corinthos walking towards the elevator and him. "Are you ok? Were you here for a checkup?" She gave her new friend a hug.

Jason let out a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding. "No, I uh…" He looked up into Carly's eyes and felt a calm come over him. Since their initial meeting a few months back, Carly had told her friend "Jake" all about her best friend Jason. As he looked into the woman's eyes now, he felt new warmth."

"Is everything alright? You didn't have any setbacks did you." He could hear the panic rising in her voice.

"No, I've actually been here all night with Sam. She was shot at the garage, had to have surgery."

"Oh my goodness." Carly gasped. "I have to go see her. Is she going to be ok? Danny already lost his father he can't lose his mother too." She started to turn towards the hall, but Jason grabbed her arm.

"She just woke up, the Doctors were checking her out when I left and Patrick had just arrived." He looked up to see tears forming in the woman's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you and Sam were so close."

"I mean…" she sniffed. "We weren't, but she was my best friend's wife and gave him his beautiful son. We haven't always gotten along but I think we have gotten closer since Jason died. We both loved him so much. She just….. needs to be alright. Jason would want her safe so she can take care of Danny."

Jason gently led Carly to some seats along the wall. It was suddenly clear to him what he had to do. There were so many people that still grieved Jason's death, and he needed to be able to tell them with complete confidence that he was alive. Holding this inside was already eating him alive, he needed to find out soon. In just the short time that he could remember knowing Carly, he had the feeling that she was very loyal and more than trust worthy. If he could count on anyone to help him figure out the truth it was her.

"Have a seat Carly. I need to tell you something….and I think I need your help."

"Anything, Jake." She said as she wiped her tears and looked on with concern. "Tell me what's going on." She turned her body to face him and looked into his eyes.

"I think I'm Jason Morgan."


End file.
